By Ben Sixsmith
Brian lowered his blast gun.
“End.”
The war-torn alien landscape disappeared. Brian took off his VR goggles and looked around. The sun was shining through the window and the birds were in full song. His wife walked in, drying her long, red hair, and kissed him on the cheek. “It’s beautiful outside, babe,” she said, rubbing his shoulders. “Let’s go out somewhere.”
“End.”
The Life Simulation disappeared, and Brian took off his VR goggles and found himself alone in his smaller, darker bedroom. He looked at his trousers and winced.
“Christ.”
He grabbed a wad of tissues. His catheter was leaking.
Good portrayal of what veterans experience. His post-traumatic stress, mental anguish and painful losses were conveyed well: the flashback, the catheter, the missing wife, and the lonlieness.
With so few words, you carry the reader to new depths. Well done.
Sorry for the incorrect spelling of loneliness. I would like to say it was a typo, but it wasn’t.
This. Is. Heartbreaking.
I love it.
This is good. A bit like awakening from a dream to find out you’re still dreaming and then waking up from that dream and so on and so forth.
Thank you for the kind words everyone 🙂
Very well done. Loved it